PALA: Johnny Mathis bringing orchestra to casino on June 28

Johnny Mathis will perform one night only at Pala Casino's Events Center on Saturday night. (Contributed by Johnny Mathis)

Ask anyone about Johnny Mathis and they will mention one thing first: That voice.

Mathis, 78, Â is well-aware that his velvety-smooth vocals are his bread and butter and he takes seriously his commitment to maintaining it.

â€śAnyone who has a gift like this, I think has an obligation to taking good care of it,â€ť he said in a recent phone interview from his home in Southern California. â€śIt is the kind of thing that, even after all these years, you wake up and immediately start to go through your routine for keeping the voice healthy.â€ť

Mathis grew up in the San Francisco area and when he was a teen, he was well known for his athletic prowess. While attending San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University), he set a high jump record of 6-foot-5 1/2 inches, just two inches short of the Olympic record of the time. That resulted in an invitation to attend the next U.S. Olympic Trials.

At the very same time, Mathis was also singing for local groups and at local clubs and it was at one of those clubs that George Avakian, head of Jazz A&R at Columbia Records, heard him sing for the first time and all but offered Mathis a record deal on the spot.

With a future in athletics and a shot at the music industry staring him in the face, Mathis turned to his father, Clem, for advice and the two chose music.

That decision proved historic.

During his 50-year-plus career, Mathis has released 200 singles, scoredÂ 71 hits and sold more thanÂ 350 million records.

On Saturday night, along with opener Gary Mule Deer, Mathis will perform with his orchestra at Pala Casino Spa & Resort inside the Events Center.

â€śYou know, it is very expensive to bring an orchestra with you to each concert,â€ť he said. â€śBut I am fortunate to be able to afford to bring a full orchestra instead of a five or six piece band. I think it lends to bringing an authenticity to the performance.â€ť

With tunes like â€śWonderful, Wonderful,â€ť â€śItâ€™s Not For Me To Say,â€ť â€śMisty" and â€śChances Areâ€ť that have stood the test of time, Mathis is eager to perform them for his fans.

â€śI think when you have a career like I have had, you have an obligation to perform as much as you can,â€ť he said. â€śAn obligation to the people that have helped you in your career, the people that bought my records and supported me along the way. It is an obligation to the gift that I have as well.â€ť

He now performs about two concerts a month and said he relies on the advice of his longtime guitarist and producer, Gil Reigers, to call the shots.

â€śI think it all comes down to what the market will bear and Gil always seems to know,â€ť Mathis said. â€śI just keep myself ready to perform all the time and when he schedules a concert, I am ready. I have never been comfortable touring, but that is my responsibility, being prepared to perform.â€ť

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